Latest Ofcom report suggests BT is delivering on promise to boost customer service

BT and its sister brands EE and Plusnet have seen “significant improvements” in customer complaint levels according to Ofcom.

All three brands have previously scored poorly in the telecoms and TV regulator’s quarterly complaints report, with BT faring especially poorly in the pay-TV sector where last year complaint levels were almost 4 times the industry average.

The BT branded part of the consumer division has previously encountered problems with systems failing to correctly process orders and provision services, and customers have long complained that staff in its overseas call centres were often unable to understand or properly resolve issues.

Earlier this year BT consumer boss, Marc Allera, accepted those criticisms and said customers were entitled to expect performance that matched the increasingly vital role broadband and telecoms play in their daily lives.

As a result, the company has pledged to bring thousands of BT and EE customer service jobs back to the UK and have introduced new self-service apps across all three brands.

It’s also launched a ‘Keep Connected Promise’ under which BT broadband customers experiencing outages will be sent a 4G Wi-Fi Mini Hub with unlimited data so they can carry on surfing and streaming while their service is repaired.

And those customers who opt in to a new BT Plus service are guaranteed they’ll only ever speak to a UK call centre, as well as benefitting from a price freeze.

The latest Ofcom report suggests the firm’s efforts are paying off, with BT TV seeing the number of complaints fall from 16 per 100,000 customers in the first quarter of this year to 7. Despite the fall, complaint levels are still almost double the industry average of 4.

EE, BT and Plusnet also saw complaints about landline and broadband problems fall in the latest quarter and BT Mobile reduced complaints from 8 per 100,000 customers to 5, marginally higher than the average.

Paolo Pescatore of MIDiA Research described the improved performance as a “testament” to Allera’s strategy, adding “more needs to be done but expect to see further improvements over coming quarters.”